NonMinimalHiggs — Non Minimal Higgs

Results in brief

Non Minimal Higgs

"This project focuses on new physics models with a non-minimal Higgs sector. On 4h July 2012 CERN announced the discovery of a scalar particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a Higgs boson. This long awaited discovery increased massively our understanding of Nature. To illustrate the phenomenal importance of this discovery, it suffices to mention that it resulted in the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics to Profs PW Higgs and F Englert ``for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider“ (motivation of the Nobel Committee). In connection with this, we should also like to report a few quotes. Peter Knight, president of UK's IoP: ""This is the physics version of the discovery of DNA“. Former British PM David Cameron: ""This is a great breakthrough, one that could be profoundly significant to our understanding of the universe and the fundamental laws that govern it“. German Research Minister Annette Schavan: ""The endurance and curiosity of researchers has been rewarded"". This is all very exciting. However, there are still fundamental questions awaiting an answer. Since the Standard Model (SM), the theoretical framework which predicted the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson, appears flawed, which new physics scenario better describes Nature when all observed properties of this new particle are taken into consideration? Will any of these new models help to solve other outstanding problems in particle physics? The overall objective of this project is to look for answers to these crucial questions. The path that we are taking to do so is guided by the following considerations. The SM is incomplete, in fact, it cannot explain other physics phenomena observed in the Universe (why there is dark matter, why there are more particles than antiparticles, why neutrinos are massive, etc.). There is therefore a need to go Beyond the SM (BSM). However, the Higgs mechanism for the generation of mass must be a cornerstone of any BSM scenario. We are therefore exploring a variety of scenarios that embed the Higgs mechanism in a (non-minimal) form suitable for BSM physics and we are studying their manifestations in both laboratory and space facilities, as these will provide the unlocking key to what BSM physics is realised in Nature."

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

On July 4th CERN has announced the discovery of a scalar particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), later identified as the Higgs boson. This scientific breakthrough was accomplished due to the joint efforts of thousands of scientists from all around the globe. This long awaited discovery increased our understanding of the world, providing an explanation for the mechanism from which all elementary particles acquire mass. However, there are still fundamental questions awaiting a clear answer: which model better describes nature when all observed properties of this new particle are taken into consideration? Will these new models help to solve other outstanding problems in elementary particle physics? The goal of this project is to look for answers to these crucial questions regarding our understanding of nature.In order to address the problem we have gathered a group of people with complementary expertises that range from model builders to high-energy tool developers who will finally make the connection to the LHC's experimental collaborations. We expect that this interaction between the different nodes of this international collaboration will result in a database together with high-energy tools where a number of models will be readily available for testing by the experimental groups at the LHC and future colliders.The staff exchange will be planned according to the needs of the project. There have been collaborations in the past between some of the nodes. We now expect that the proposed staff exchange will enhance this Higgs physics network, with an effective skills development both for experienced and early stage researchers. Finally we foresee that the project will not only have an impact on European science but will also contribute to bring together different cultures with a very positive outcome for society as a whole.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON · SOUTHAMPTONCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
CARLETON UNIVERSITY · OTTAWACanada
HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiFinland
INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE ENGENHARIA DE LISBOA · LISBOAPortugal
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA · OaklandUnited States
THE UNIVERSITY OF OSAKA · OsakaJapan
UNIVERSITE ABDELMALEK ESSAADI · TetouanMorocco
UNIVERSITE PARIS-SACLAY · Gif-Sur-YvetteFrance
UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · UppsalaSweden
University of Toyama · ToyamaJapan
ZEWAIL CITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY · GIZAEgypt

NonMinimalHiggs · Non Minimal Higgs

Results in brief